San Diego County Apartments Trade for $3.5M

An apartment property at 1717 N. Vulcan Ave. in Encinitas has changed hands for $3.5 million. The seller was a partnership that had acquired the property in 2010 as a value-add, while the buyer was a private investor.

Encinitas, Calif.—An apartment property at 1717 N. Vulcan Ave. in Encinitas has changed hands for $3.5 million. The seller was a partnership that had acquired the property in 2010 as a value-add, while the buyer was a private investor.

Though investors of various stripes are on the hunt nationwide for multifamily properties, properties of this size—14 units—still tend to attract mostly local interest. “This property attracted local investors in Southern California,” Lou Bulte, of Privado Capital Group and senior vice president of Lee & Associates-North San Diego County, tells MHN. “Eventually it was bought by an investor out of Orange County.”

Bulte, who specializes in brokering multifamily investments, represented the seller Leucadia Shores LLC, a partnership of Pathfinder Partners, Bulte Living Trust and SOS Management. The partners bought 1717 N. Vulcan for $2.425 million as a renovation project. SOS Management handled the renovation and management for the partnership and will continue to manage the property.

The building includes nine three-bedroom (townhome style) units ranging in size from 1,031 to 1,246 square feet; four two-bedroom units ranging in size from 884 to 959 square feet; and one one-bedroom unit of about 700 square feet. Other features are gated access, and 14 enclosed garages with storage lockers available to all tenants. The property was built in 1973.

The buyers, James and Linda Ritch, were represented by Pat Swanson of Hendricks and Partners, Newport Beach. The acquisition was financed with a loan of $2.45 million from JP Morgan Chase.

Encinitas is a coastal city in San Diego County about 25 miles north of San Diego. Metro San Diego has strong apartment fundamentals, according to investment specialist Marcus & Millichap. Vacancies ended 2012 just below 3 percent, and effective rents rose 3.7 percent during the year.